Following up on my post about the town hall meeting earlier this week...what question would you like to ask Barack Obama?
Let me narrow it a bit. I'm looking for information seeking questions, things you want to know an answer to; I'm not looking for gotcha-type questions. And, to further nudge everyone alon, I'd like questions for which it's at least possible he'd give you an answer...I'm less interested in questions about top-secret stuff, for example. So, if you had the chance, what would you ask the president?
I want to ask him how much of his lack of action and lack of follow-through on campaign promises on civil liberties was thrust upon him (by congress, mostly) and how much was something he honestly changed his mind on.
ReplyDeleteI'd ask him whether he thinks the Federal Reserve is being too cautious on taking extraordinary steps to stimulate the economy and lower unemployment. Does he agree with the de facto current policy of the Fed of maintaining 1% inflation even if that means 9% or higher unemployment?
ReplyDeleteFollowing up on Bullied Pulpit, after he blamed Congress, I'd ask him if he really changed his mind, or if he always believed in the extension of presidential powers and the abuse of civil liberties.
ReplyDeleteI'd press the President---who I support on other issues---on high-speed rail. He seems to be poorly informed on the issue. Spending billions on a system that will never carry enough people to justify that investment even as transit systems all over the country are in the red is a mistake. For once the Republicans are playing a positive role by cutting the money out of his budget.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cc-hsr.org/assets/pdf/66btrouble-032211.pdf
How could he first approve extension of Bush tax cuts then say he wants to end them? Politics? Why believe him now?
ReplyDeleteWhat was the biggest mistake you've made as president, and what do you plan to do differently now?
ReplyDeleteI would ask him if the domestic political challlenges weren't so great how he would have pursued his legislative strategy and goals differently and how constrained has he been with his foreign policy with domestic politics.
ReplyDeleteWhich item has moved up on the "to do" list: negotiating with Omar or killing/capturing Omar?
ReplyDeleteDoes the successful raid against OBL expedite the withdrawal schedule from Afghanistan?
ReplyDeleteI don't think the president would provide instructive answers to the sort of questions that are most worth asking, precisely because those kind of questions generally put politicians in a difficult position (obviously this is not a problem unique to Obama).
ReplyDeleteForgetting that though, my question would look a lot like the one offered by Bullied Pulpit. His campaign rhetoric about civil liberties and executive authority have simply not matched up with his record in office, and I'd like for him to explain what happened.
There are 90 vacancies on the district courts and appeals courts, and 56 of them with no nominees. I hope that you have intended nominees or short lists of at most four people for all of those positions.
ReplyDeleteSo I ask: For how many of those 56 vacancies have you narrowed down the possible candidates to a short list?
Oops, it's 46 vacancies with no nominees. http://www.uscourts.gov/JudgesAndJudgeships/JudicialVacancies.aspx
ReplyDeleteConsidering the negative effect it's had on many American communities, the large financial strain it's put on state budgets, and the increasing level of violence and instability it is causing in US allies in Latin America, would you be open to rolling back the War on Drugs in any way? And if so, how?
ReplyDeleteI think I'm with acrossthestreet on this one. The Judiciary needs a stronger liberal influence and I would assume Obama would bolster that. He did just recently nominate a justice from the NE Supreme Court whom I respect immensely.
ReplyDeleteI'd ask him what concrete steps he'd take to bring down unemployment if he were re-elected but the economy was adding only enough jobs to keep the employment-to-population ratio roughly constant. It's a very likely scenario (except the part about his re-election), and the lack even of advocacy for a plan to reduce unemployment is his No. 1 policy failure.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, I think it's significant that most of the questions asked here don't pertain to the economy. You've got a highly educated, likely mostly affluent readership, and for such people, the issues that occupy them (us) most tend not to be the same ones that preoccupy the working-class base of the party. It's one reason the diehard plutocrats in the GOP don't pay a greater political cost for their highly unpopular policy preferences.
ReplyDeleteActually, Benjamin, I have a very good idea as to the answer I'd get concerning unemployment, and I'm quite sure I wouldn't like the answer. I have no idea why Obama's dropping the ball on the Judiciary. Don't assume.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the US space program going to accomplish by the end of the century?
ReplyDeleteHas the reaction to the killing of Osama bin Laden convinced you that conservatives will relentlessly attack you no matter what you do and that they have no interest in bipartisanship or negotiating in good faith?
ReplyDeleteOver 70% percent of the public believes the War on Drugs to be a failure. Despite investments of 70 billion annually from the United States, drugs are purer than ever and just as available. Meanwhile countries like Portugal have pursued harm reduction strategies and seen their usage rates decrease while saving serious amounts of money. Why hasn't the United States pursued a similar strategy?
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